The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2014

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Brief Encounters Whether THE TASTING PANEL goes to the brand execs or the brands call us, there is an abundance of news to report, from the latest releases to behind-the-scenes experiences with some of the world's most influential importers, winemakers, distillers . . . well, you name it. We may not have enough pages in each issue to devote as much attention as we would like to each person whose path we cross, but please note that if it's in the publication, we deem it noteworthy —Meridith May, Publisher & Executive Editor THE MESSAGE T here are a handful of ardent surfers in Northern California who make wine or own wineries and among them are Don Van Staaveren and Bill Price III of Three Sticks. Though the ocean seems to play an unspoken role in Van Staaveren's winemak- ing philosophy, over the years, the two pursuits combined have resulted in some truly extraordinary wines. In the '90s, he trained with Dick Arrowood and catapulted Sonoma into the big leagues when his 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinque Cépages was awarded Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator and then became a fixture on the publication's Top 100 list. Van Staaveren first met Price in 1996 when Chateau St. Jean was sold, but it wasn't until 2004 that he began making Three Sticks at Sonoma's Eighth Street Wineries. Known for perfecting gentle winemaking techniques, Van Staaveren's signature style of whole-berry fermentation for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is highly respectful of terroir. In the case of Three Sticks, it allows Price's Durell Vineyard and the sites for eight different Pinot Noirs to radiate transparently in his wines. Speaking to the Three Sticks 2011 Durell Origins Chardonnay ($48) he said, "Durell was a river bed that year. We had to have patience and allow for more hang time; then we used lees stirring for wines with lots of intensity." —Deborah Parker Wong www.threestickswines.com Three Sticks and No Stones 14  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2014 14  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2014 Surfing winemaker Don Van Staaveren of Three Sticks. PHOTO COURTESY OF THREE STICKS The enlightened ultra-premium dark rum. Buy a stranger a good drink and they will be a stranger no longer. ~Hoti~ pyratrum.com Be enlightened. Drink responsibly. © 2014 Patrón Spirits Company, Las Vegas, NV. 40% Alc./Vol. @PyratRum JOB#: 140199Z CLIENT: Patrón Domestic DESC: P4/C BLEED PUB: tasting panel june AD: Stefanides, Dean CW: Hampel, Larry AE: van Ackere, Gerland PROD: Santi, Dave OPER: Sarah Groff PROOF: 1 TRIM: 8.25" W X 10.75" H BLEED: 8.75" W X 11.5" H LIVE: 7.75" W X 10.25 LINE SCREEN: 133 SCALE: 100% CREATIVE: PYRAT FILE NAME: 140199Z_YPAT_8.25x10.75_PYRAT.indd IMAGES: twitter-bird-dark-bgs.eps, 130093A_YPAT_8.25x10.75_PYRAT.tif DATE: 5/21/14 - 10:19 AM FONTS: Avenir LT Std 65 Medium, Helvetica Regular, Dalliance OT Regular, Dalliance OT Roman COLORS: C=30 M=40 Y=70 K=45, Black, C=30 M=35 Y=70 K=10 NOTES: B:11.5 in B:8.75 in T:10.75 in T:8.25 in S:10.25 in S:7.75 in TP0614_001-33.indd 14 5/23/14 8:29 PM

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